Prince Harry is finally set to bring out the paperback edition of his vitriolic memoir, Spare.
However the Royal Family is likely to breathe a sigh of relief after it was announced by his publisher that the book would not be updated from its hardback form, a somewhat unusual move for an international bestseller.
Unfortunately, however, its October release will clash with King Charles’ high-profile appearance at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa, the first time he has attended since acceding the throne and becoming head of the global organisation.
The meeting will be held from October 21-25 with Harry’s paperback being published in the US on October 22 and then the UK two days later.
Buckingham Palace announced back in July that the monarch planned to attend despite his ongoing cancer treatment as part of an Autumn tour in October that will also take in .
The re-issue of Spare will also re-ignite bombshell claims made by the prince against his estranged family including allegations that Prince William broke his necklace and shoved him onto a dog bowl which smashed during a particularly explosive row.
He also recalled numerous private family conversations between himself, his father and brother, and shone a spotlight on difficulties between his wife and the then Duchess of Cambridge – including Kate’s reaction to Meghan saying she had ‘baby brain’.
Publishers Penguin Random House announced yesterday that Spare’s new imprint would be published in 16 languages worldwide.
It will have the same cover image as the hardcover edition, a newly-designed package but ‘the contents of the book are unchanged’.
Questions had been raised as to whether Harry would, like many authors, update the paperback edition with a new chapter, particularly considering how much has happened in the last year.
In that time, his relationships with his family has continued to break down, the King has been diagnosed with cancer – which saw Harry make a transatlantic dash to London to see his father for barely 30 minutes – and his children, Archie and Lilibet, have become Prince and Princess.
The fact that Harry has chosen not to add to the revelations may be seen by some as an attempt to try and smooth over family ructions.
Spare, which was first published on January 10 last year, became an instant publishing sensation and sold more than six million copies, in both print and audio, across the world.
It holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest selling nonfiction book of all time, not least because Harry became the most high profile family member to ever ‘kiss and tell’ on the monarchy.
However while the book, ghostwritten by journalist J.R. Moehringer, was a financial success for the prince, his reputation is widely considered to have suffered as a result.
Many considered both the book and Harry’s round of equally vitriolic media appearances to publicise it a betrayal too far and criticised his version of events.
It generally takes between six months to a year for a paperback edition to come out after the initial publication in hardback.
They can be produced and sold more cheaply, and are designed to attract more readers.
Whether Spare will do this considering its runaway success as a hardback remains be seen.
Prince Harry ‘peed his pants’ before his first date with Meghan. And what The Queen REALLY thought of Archie and Lili – nine intimate disclosures you might have missed from Harry’s explosive book, Spare
Prince Harry’s tell-all book Spare raised eyebrows round the world with colourful disclosure about his frost-nipped penis and an allusion to having sex with Meghan at Soho House, the London hotel and private members’ club.
But aside from headline-grabbing titbits about his ‘todger’, the book contained a wealth of intriguing and highly personal revelations you might have missed.
Here are ’s top nine eye-opening takeaways from Spare:
1. Harry ‘peed his pants’ before first date with Meghan
Harry had taken part in a five hour sailing race before his very first date with Meghan, to whom he’d been introduced through Instagram.
But when nature called, he was appalled to discover there were no facilities aboard. He attempted to relieve himself into the sea, but got ‘stage fright’ and couldn’t do it.’ Finally I went back to my post, sheepishly hung from the ropes, and peed my pants,’ he wrote: ‘Wow, I thought, if Ms. Markle could see me now.’
The Duke washed his soiled trousers in the water before rushing back rush back to London to meet Meghan. The rest, as they say, is history.
2. William planned to shave Harry on his stag do
Harry claimed his older brother was jealous and ‘livid’ because the Queen had allowed him to keep his bushy red beard for his wedding, while Harry was ordered to shave his off before his wedding to Kate Middleton in accordance with royal protocol.
The Duke of Sussex then discovered that William planned to take revenge by forcibly shaving off his beard so both brothers were bare-cheeked on their wedding day.
Harry said wanted to enjoy the traditional pre-nuptual party and use it an an opportunity to ‘de-stress’. But instead he had to he didn’t get too drunk while keeping a wary eye on his big brother.
Queen comes back as a hummingbird
Harry wrote that he wished he could say ‘one more goodbye’ to his grandmother after arriving at Balmoral too late to see her before she died.
Back at home in California after the funeral, a hummingbird got into his Montecito home,. Harry didn’t think anything of it until a friend told him it could be a sign, and that Spanish explorers called them ‘resurrection birds’.
He then questioned whether he had just had a visit from the late Queen, writing: ‘I thought hopefully, greedily, foolishly: Is our house a detour—or a destination?’
He then thought about letting the bird stay before deciding against it and setting it free instead.
What The Queen thought of Archie and Lilibet
In Spare, Harry recalled a bittersweet memory – the last time his son Archie and his daughter Lilibet (named after his grandmother) saw the Queen before her passing.
He said that Archie was bowing to the late monarch while Lilibet attached herself to the Queen’s shins.
His grandmother was delighted and described them as the ‘sweetest children’.
Harry wrote: ‘She’d expected them to be a bit more…American, I think? Meaning, in her mind, more rambunctious.’
Holding Meghan’s hair back while she was sick
Prince Harry wrote about introducing Meghan to his cousin Princess Eugenie and her now-husband Jack Brooksbank.
Meghan had cooked them salmon and they chatted about her TV show Suits and travel destinations.
After they began drinking tequila, Meghan said she was not feeling well and went to bed early.
Harry’s first reaction was that Meghan was a ‘lightweight’, but he woke up to hear his future wife throwing up in the bathroom.
The Duchess had suffered a reaction to the squid she had eaten for lunch at a restaurant. Meanwhile Harry did the gentlemanly thing and held back her hair while she was vomiting.
He wrote: ‘I rubbed her back and eventually put her to bed. Weak, near tears, she said she’d imagined a very different end to Date Four.’
Charles listens to ‘storybooks’ in the bath
The future King’s bath-time habits also got a mention when harry revealed that Charles likes to take a portable CD player to the bathroom with him.
He recalled an incident from childhood, saying: ‘Pa was carrying his “wireless,” which is what he called his portable CD player, on which he liked to listen to his “storybooks” while soaking.’
The Queen wore ear plugs to block out music at her Diamond Jubilee concert
As the concert to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee wore on, Harry was suffering with a headache, presumably not helped by Paul McCartney singing ‘Her Majesty’ and Queen’s guitarist Brian May blasting out ‘God Save the Queen’ .
Then he looked over to the late monarch, who was dancing away and not apparently growing tired.
On closer inspection, Harry said he noticed that the Queen could not hear anything, because she wore yellow coloured earplugs to block out the ‘loud’ music.
He wrote: ‘More than ever before, I wanted to give my Granny a hug.’
Harry got stoned after his first date with Meghan
Harry divulged that he met up with a friend after his date with Meghan to discuss the nights events – and ‘out came the tequila. Out came the weed.’
They sat and watched the cartoon film Inside Out and Harry described himself as feeling numb ,before writing: ‘good weed dude’.
He then panicked when his phone rang. It was an impromptu video call from Meghan, which he answered.
Harry said that he ‘loved’ Meghan’s freckles before she went on to claim that they would be edited out ‘every time’ she got snapped.
The King’s favourite aftershave
Prince Harry revealed his father’s favourite aftershave is the classic 1960 Dior fragrance Eau Sauvage, which he would ‘slather’ on.
Harry said the aftershave was ‘flowery, with a hint of something harsh, like pepper or gunpowder.’
He added that the bottle said that the product was made in Paris which made him ‘think of mummy’.